Upcoming SAL Events

Victoria Chang: In-Person & Online Image

Victoria Chang: In-Person & Online

Tuesday, April 2, 2024

Poetry

Victoria Chang has garnered acclaim with her collection Obit and her nonfiction exploration Dear Memory. Her new collection of poetry, With My Back to the World, is inspired by the work of Agnes Martin, exploring topics of feminism, art, depression, and grief with Chang’s signature taut language and brilliant imagery. Q&A with Jane Wong.

Gabrielle Zevin: In-Person & Online Image

Gabrielle Zevin: In-Person & Online

Thursday, April 25, 2024

Literary Arts

Spanning thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, and lands in between and far beyond, Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love. Hailed as a “tour de force” by Ron Charles of the Washington Post, Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow has found both critical and commercial success, named one of the Best Books of the Year by the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, TIME, GoodReads, and Oprah Daily. Q&A with Ruchika Tulshyan.

Terrance Hayes: In-Person & Online Image

Terrance Hayes: In-Person & Online

Thursday, May 2, 2024

Poetry

So to Speak, a powerful, timely, dazzling new collection of poems from Terrance Hayes, the National Book Award–winning author of Lighthead, reminds us of the strange and lyrical grammar of thinking and feeling.  On the one hand, these fabulous fables, American sonnets, quarantine quatrains, and ekphrastic do-it-yourself sestinas animate what Toni Morrison called “the writerly imagination of a black author who is at some level always conscious of representing one’s own race.” On the other hand, these urgent, personal poems contemplate fatherhood, history, and longing with remarkable openness and humanity. So To Speak is the mature, restless work of one of contemporary poetry’s leading voices. Q&A with Yanyi.

A Conversation with Pailin Chongchitnant: In-Person & Online Image

A Conversation with Pailin Chongchitnant: In-Person & Online

Thursday, May 9, 2024

J. Kenji López-Alt Presents

Join Cordon Bleu-trained chef Pailin Chongchitnant for an evening of Thai cooking discussion with J. Kenji López-Alt! In addition to hosting the sensational Youtube channel Pailin’s Kitchen with 1.7 million subscribers, Chongchitnant is the author of two definitive Thai cookbooks, Hot Thai Kitchen and Sabai: 100 Simple Thai Recipes for Any Day of the Week.

Luis Alberto Urrea: In-Person & Online Image

Luis Alberto Urrea: In-Person & Online

Monday, May 20, 2024

Encore

Hailed by NPR as a “literary badass” and a “master storyteller with a rock and roll heart,” Luis Alberto Urrea is a prolific and acclaimed writer who uses his dual-culture life experiences to explore greater themes of love, loss and triumph. Urrea’s newest book, Good Night, Irene, takes as inspiration his mother’s own Red Cross service. Q&A with Jodi-Ann Burey.

Murmurations: Local Voices Taking Flight Image

Murmurations: Local Voices Taking Flight

Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Community

This four-part reading series features acclaimed poets, writers, and comics artists who teach in SAL’s Writers in the Schools program or who serve as mentors in the Youth Poetry Fellowship. Tonight’s program will feature Amy Hirayama, Nanya Jhingran, Nhatt Nichols, Ricardo Ruiz, Ann Teplick, Acca and Ankober Yewondwossen. These resident writers come together to read from their own works-in-progress, inspiring the same craft and performance skills they teach in the classroom. Free (no RSVP necessary; just come)

Seattle Arts & Lectures cultivates transformative experiences through story and language with readers and writers of all generations.

Community

Community Access Tickets

We believe that reading, writing, and creative thinking are indispensable to a curious, engaged, democratic society. Our goal is to make these experiences available to as many people as possible, regardless of economic circumstances—which is why we created our Community Access Tickets (CAT) program for our in-person and digital events.

Gift Cards

Give the gift of SAL! If you’re looking for a literary-themed gift for loved ones near and far, SAL’s digital gift cards are on sale now.